There is know a discharge cap of a hinge-cap structure, which is attached to a mouth portion of a bottle-like container body for containing a content liquid, for example syrup or seasoning liquid such as soy sauce or Worcester sauce. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. 2005-014968 discloses a discharge cap, wherein a plurality of parts each having an discharge outlet with a different diameter can be combined together in order to allow the discharge amount of the content liquid to be changed or varied.
The prior art as described above is typically in the form of a snap cap which includes a cap main body having a top surface which, in turn, is formed with an opening for inserting a discharge port of an inner plug. The cap main body can be secured to a mouth portion of the container body with the inner plug secured in place. A lid body is hinge-connected to the cap main body in a pivotable manner, and has a back surface provided with a plug body that can be fitted to the above-mentioned discharge port. In this instance, the plug body is comprised of a plurality of cylindrical projections which are arranged concentrically. One of the cylindrical projections is fitted in a discharge port of a different inner plug with a different inner diameter, so as to achieve the closure. In other words, a snap cap with a cap body is formed by providing a plurality of inner plugs each having a discharge port of a different bore diameter, and a lid body separate from the inner plugs and having a plurality of integral projections of cylindrical shape corresponding to, and adapted to be tightly fitted in, the discharge port of the relevant inner plug, so as to change the inner plug with respect to the container and thereby change the discharging degree of the content liquid.
In the above-mentioned prior art, however, in order to change the discharging degree of the content liquid, it is necessary to replace the inner plug with respect to the container, after removing the snap cap from the container. Thus, there has been a problem that it is very troublesome to change the discharging degree of the content liquid while the content liquid is being discharged. For example, in the case of hot cake or the like, if it is desired, not only to simply discharge and apply a content liquid such as syrup, but also to write characters or draw figures or patterns by the discharged content liquid, it would be desirable to change the discharge port to a smaller one. However, such a demand is hardly satisfied by the above-mentioned prior art, due to the requirement for replacement of the inner plug. There is a further problem that, in order to change the discharging degree of the content liquid, it is necessary for the inner plugs to be available at hand, separately from the inner plug already secured to the container, thereby making the storage and handling much troublesome.